Attachment cutting system having cutting heads and a cutter chain

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an attachment cutting system having an attachment bracket for attaching to a moving carrier arm of a carrier device. The attachment cutting system comprises at least one motor and two cutting heads which are rotationally driven by said motor, are attached at both sides of the longitudinal axis of the attachment bracket, and carry numerous cutting teeth. Furthermore, a rotating cutter chain having numerous cutting teeth is provided, the direction of travel of which runs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the attachment bracket and which extends between the two cutting heads, wherein the front reversing line of the cutter chain lies substantially in a plane tangent to the outside cutting surfaces of the two cutting heads, and wherein the motor driving the cutting heads, and wherein the motor driving the cutting heads also drives the cutter chain.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an attachment cutting system having an attachment bracket for attaching a movable carrier arm of a carrier device. In particular, such a carrier device is an excavator or a similar construction machine. The attachment cutting system comprises at least one motor and at least two cutting heads, which are rotationally driven by the motor, are mounted on either side of the longitudinal axis of the attachment bracket and carry numerous cutting teeth, the cutting teeth of each cutting head describing a cylindrical cutting surface as they rotate.

In particular, such an attachment cutting system is used for road construction, special underground mining and tunnel or water construction. The attachment cutting system is used, for example, for breaking open sealed surfaces, and also for pulling down concrete and knocking down certain earth and rock layers.

For example, the DE 101 32 608 B4 or the EP 1 715 106 A1 discloses an excavator attachment cutters, which are constructed as transverse cutting head cutters and are equipped with round shaft teeth, tipped with hard metal, as cutting tools. When this type of cutting is used, the cutter must usually be swiveled back and forth laterally, in order to break the material between the cutting heads in this way. It is a disadvantage of such cutting that the width of the cut is a larger than the actual width of the cutting head. This is particularly disadvantageous in channel construction. A further disadvantage of this type of cutting is the load placed on the swiveling axis of the excavator, which is constantly exposed to high torsional and shearing forces during the cutting.

Excavator attachment cutters are also frequently used for the disintegration of soft and moderately hard rock, such as limestone or gypsum. In this connection, it is important, especially in the disintegration of gypsum, that the fines portion in the material be kept as small as possible. By using excavator attachment cutters with lateral cutting heads, which are swiveled at the wall, which is being disintegrated, the material, broken off by the front cutting head, is undesirably comminuted further by the cutting head that follows.

The DE 100 41 275 B4 discloses a cutting system, which is to be attached to a hydraulic carrier device and consists of two or more attachment cutters (1), which are driven simultaneously and separately by a hydraulic motor (3) each and have the same or a different construction with the same or different tool carriers (6). The individual attachment cutters (1) are disposed interchangeably over connecting brackets (8) next to one another, behind one another or at an angle to one another at the same or a different height. With that, the disintegration of material frontally to the carrier device is said to be more efficient. However, this cutting system is expensive and not very suitable, for example, for digging trenches.

The U.S. Pat. No. 7,096,609 B2 discloses a so-called trencher, which is equipped with a cutting chain. The trencher comprises worm shafts, which are mounted vertically to the running direction of the cutting chain and press the soil removed away from the excavated trench. The limited usability of this machine is a disadvantage here. The trencher is not suitable for removing material over a large surface at a wall. Because of its high construction, the trencher moreover is exposed to high mechanical stresses. Moreover, the forces arise not only in the longitudinal direction of the revolving cutting chain, but also perpendicularly to the chain, especially when the cutting tool comes up against obstacles, such as stones or the like.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to continue the development of an attachment cutting system, which is to be attached to a movable carrier arm of a carrier device, so that it can be used for different cutting work without interfering significantly with the efficiency of the individual work situations.

Pursuant to the invention, this objective is accomplished by the distinguishing features of the attachment cutting system of the attached claim 1.

The inventive attachment cutting system, which is to be attached to a movable carrier arm of a carrier device, comprises an attachment bracket, on which rotating cutting heads are mounted on either side of the longitudinal axis of the attachment bracket. Furthermore, the attachment cutting system comprises a revolving cutting chain with a running direction, which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the attachment bracket and extends between the two cutting heads. Numerous cutting teeth, which describe a cylindrical cutting surface during a rotation of the cutting heads, are mounted at the cutting chain and the cutting heads. The cutting teeth of the cutting chain form a semi-cylindrical surface at the exposed front end of the cutting chain. Moreover, the front reversing line of the cutter chain lies essentially in a plane tangential to the cutting surfaces of the two cutting heads.

With that, there is practically no gap between the contact lines of the cutting teeth of the cutting heads with the surface to be cut, a gap, which is determined by the equipment of the prior art by the width of the attachment bracket, and the contact line of the cutting teeth of the cutter chain. Advisably, the contact lines also lie in a common plane.

With that, the inventive attachment cutting system has the advantage that the lateral swiveling of the excavator attachment is no longer necessary for removing material from a wall over a wide area. The attachment cutter is applied at the top of the wall and works vertically downward. If the cutting heads and the cutter chain are equipped appropriately with tools, rock with an optimum granulation can thus be produced and the movable carrier arm of the carrier device is stressed less

In a preferred embodiment, the attachment cutting system comprises two driving pinions, by means of which the cutter chain is delivered. The respective driving pinions are disposed between the cutter chain and the adjacent cutting heads and engage the driving element of the cutter chain as well as of the respectively adjoining cutting head so as to drive them. Force is transferred from the diving pinions to the cutter chain, for example, by means of driving pins, which form the driving element of the cutter chain.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the attachment cutter system, the connection between the driving pinions and the cutting heads is separable, so that the cutting heads can be removed from the attachment bracket without impairing the driving mechanism of the cutter chain. As a result of this exchangeability of the cutting heads, the possibility exists of converting and using the attachment cutter system for other purposes. For example, cutting heads with a narrower shape can be exchanged for those with a wider shape.

A further possibility consists of omitting the cutting heads generally, in order to work exclusively with the cutter chain. In this connection, the advantage of the inventive attachment cutter system lies therein that, as the tasks at the building site change, these modular attachment cutter systems can be converted quickly and without problems, as a result of which the utilization of this equipment is more economic and more diversified.

In a further embodiment of the attachment cutter system, the cutter chain is guided with the little wear in the longitudinal direction to the carrier arm over a transmission housing disposed there, preferably with the interposing of a linear guiding unit. The transmission housing expands in the longitudinal direction between the two cutting heads and the attachment bracket and comprises a transmission, which is between the motor and the cutting heads. Because of the possibility that the length of the housing can be changed, the advantage arises that the depth of the trench, which is to be cut, can be controlled and, overall, a greater trench depth can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment of the attachment cutter system, the single motor, around which the cutter chain is running, is disposed between the two cutting heads. With this arrangement, force is no longer transferred to the cutter chain over the transmission and the cutter chain, as well as the cutting heads, are driven directly, for example, with the help of driving pinions.

In a modified embodiment, the attachment cutter system comprises several motors, preferably hydraulic motors, each of which is assigned to a cutting head. The cutter chain is driven correspondingly over both motors, which are disposed in the longitudinal direction and, in each case, on both sides of the transmission or motor housing.

For preferred embodiments of the attachment cutter system, the cutting heads are constructed either as cross-cutting heads or as longitudinally cutting heads, between which the cutter chain is guided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Particularly preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in greater detail in the following and depicted in the Figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of an attachment cutter system with an attachment bracket, which is to be attached to a movable carrier arm of a carrier device, and with a transmission housing and

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the attachment cutter system with a motor between two cutting heads.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an inventive attachment cutter system with an attachment bracket for attachment to a movable carrier arm of a carrier device in a perspective representation. The attachment cutter system comprises a cutter chain 01 and two rotating cutting heads 03, which are mounted at an attachment bracket 02. The attachment bracket 02 is flanged in the usual manner to the carrying arm of a carrier device (not shown). The cutting heads 03 are fastened on both sides of the attachment bracket 02 in relation to their longitudinal axis. The cutter chain 01 is between the two rotating cutting heads 03 and lies parallel to the longitudinal axis of the attachment bracket 02.

Cutting teeth 04, for example, hard metal tipped round shank teeth, are mounted at each of the two cutter heads 03 and at the cutting chain 01. The round shank teeth may also be capped with other cutting tools. A cylindrical cutting surface is described by the cutting teeth 04 during the rotational movement of the cutting heads 03 about their axis of rotation. The cutting teeth 04 on the cutter chain 01 are distributed in the running direction and, at the exposed front end of the cutter chain 01, describe a semi-cylindrical cutting surface when in operation. With that, the front reversing line of the cutter chain 01 lies essentially in one plane with the plane, which is defined by the cutter surface of the two cutting heads 03. Accordingly, the cutting heads 03 and the cutter chain 01 together form a roller-like cutting tool.

The attachment cutter system, depicted in FIG. 1, comprises two driving pinions 05, by means of which the cutter chain 01 and the two cutting heads 03 are driven. The respective driving pinions 05 are disposed between the cutter chain 01 and the adjacent cutting head 03 and are driven over a drive shaft, which is not shown. Forces are transferred by the driving pinions 05 to the cutter chain 1 by means of driving pins 07, which are mounted permanently and are located at the sides, facing the cutting heads, transversely to the running direction of the cutter chain 01. The advancing force is transferred to the cutter chain 01 by the engagement of the driving pins 07 in the rotationally driven driving pinions 05.

In FIG. 1, an embodiment is shown, in which there is a permanent connection between the cutting heads 03 and the driving pinions 07. The cutting heads 03 are fastened to the attachment bracket 02 by welding, for example.

The cutter chain 01 is passed with little wear over a transmission housing 09, which extends in the longitudinal direction of the carrier arm and, starting out from the attachment bracket 02, extends between the two cutting heads 03. For this purpose, a linear guiding unit is mounted on the transmission housing. The movement of the cutter chain 01 is reversed by means of a guide roller, which cannot be seen. Furthermore, this embodiment of the attachment cutter system has a transmission, which is not shown, and two laterally flanged-on motors 11, which are available for driving the cutter chain 01, as well as the two cutting heads 03. The reduction gear, around which the cutter chain 01 runs, is located between the cutting heads 03 and the attachment bracket 02.

The cutter chain 01 and the two cutting heads 03 are driven by the motors 11, which preferably are hydraulic motors. One of the motors 11, which are located between the transmission and the attachments bracket 02 at both sides of the transmission housing 09, is assigned to each of the cutting heads 03.

In FIG. 2, a second embodiment of the attachment cutter system is shown, which also contains the essential elements of the embodiment described previously.

The special feature of this embodiment lies therein that the cutter chain 01 is driven over a motor, preferably a hydraulic motor, which is coupled to the cutter chain 01 without a reduction gear. The motor, around which the cutter chain 01 runs, is disposed between the two cutting heads 03. The cutter chain 01, as well as the cutting heads 03 are driven by the slow running motor.

For this embodiment, the cutting heads 03 are connected detachably with the driving pinions 05, as a result of which the cutting heads 03 can be removed from the attachment bracket 1 without affecting the driving mechanism of the cutter chain 01. 

1. An excavator attachment cutter, comprising: an attachment bracket for attaching a moving carrier arm of an excavator; at least one motor; two cross-cutting heads, which are rotationally driven by said motor, mounted on either side of a longitudinal axis of said attachment bracket and carry numerous cutting teeth, the cutting teeth of each cutting head providing a cylindrical cutting surface as they rotate; and a revolving cutter chain having numerous cutting teeth and extending in a running direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the attachment bracket in such a manner between the two cutting heads, that a front reversing line of the cutter chain lies essentially in a plane tangential to the cutting surfaces of the two cutting heads; wherein the at least one motor, driving the cutting heads, also drives the cutter chain.
 2. The excavator attachment cutter of claim 1, wherein at an exposed front end, the cutting teeth of the cutter chain, define a semi-cylindrical surface, which lies essentially in a common curved surface with front sections of the cylindrical cutting surfaces of the cutting heads.
 3. The excavator attachment cutter of claim 1, wherein the cutter chain is driven by two driving pinions, which are disposed between the cutter chain and the cutting heads and engage driving elements of the cutter chain as well as those of the respectively adjoining cutting heads.
 4. The excavator attachment cutter of claim 3, wherein the driving elements of the cutter chain comprises driving pins, located at both sides of said cutter chain, facing the cutting heads.
 5. The excavator attachment cutter of claim 3, wherein the driving pinions are connected with the cutting heads in such a manner, that the cutting heads can be removed from the attachment bracket, without interfering with the driving mechanism of the cutter chain.
 6. The excavator attachment cutter of claim 1, wherein the cutter chain is guided in the longitudinal direction over a transmission housing.
 7. The excavator attachment cutter of claim 6, wherein the transmission housing is disposed, in the longitudinal direction, between the cutting heads and the attachment bracket and contains a reduction gear, which is in the drive train between the motor and the cutting heads.
 8. The excavator attachment cutter of claim 1, wherein the motor and, optionally, a transmission are disposed in a housing section, which is between the two cutting heads and around which the cutter chain is running
 9. The excavator attachment cutter of claim 1, wherein the motor is a hydraulic motor.
 10. The excavator attachment cutter claim 1, wherein the two cross-cutting heads each have their own motor, which also drives the cutter chain.
 11. (canceled) 